Last year’s wine highlight for me was a long-overdue visit to California, where I spent a week in the Napa valley. Hot days, tempered by foggy mornings, shade from the mountains to the east and west, precious alluvial fans, and altitude variations up to 2,600 feet create a very special environment for quality Cabernets and Bordeaux blends in particular. The wines themselves deserve more time, but I’d like to share some other highlights of this famous region:
I was enthralled by the relatively short history of the Napa Valley. The last generation, embodied by hardworking men like Joseph Phelps and Bruce Cakebread, bought cattle ranches and toiled the earth to grow vines and craft wines as we know them today. Little did I realise the struggle behind the scenes, with Robert Mondavi at the fore, to preserve a rural community life, against developers’ plans to create tourist resorts in a narrow traffic-filled valley.
Somewhere along the way, Napa Valley perfected the existence of wine tourism. Nowhere on earth have I seen such diligence in sharing winemaking with the public. Each winery has its own style and theme from The Waltons-style barns (Sequoia Grove) to magnificent edifices housing contemporary art. The hosts vary too. At best, you will find Bob in Sterling Vineyards, whose rumpled appearance disguises a real passion for wines. I should know better – behind ordinary facades in Dublin wineshops you will find real extraordinary exponents for quality wine.
In terms of food and wine matching, Napa has cultivated this into an art form. Imagine Newton Merlot with Valrhona chocolate lavender truffle or (unfiltered wine of course, to match the purity of the food!). Bring it on! This for me, is a real challenge to bring home to the Irish population. I want to convert the Tayto and Pinot Grigio brigade! Irish graduates of Cakebread’s culinary school in Napa – (I know who you are) – please take note!
I was greatly impressed by how seriously Californians take wine education. Understanding wine is key to its enjoyment, and is a far more reliable and long term investment than other forms of promotion. The scary-sounding CIA (Culinary Institute of America) in Santa Helena are leading proponents of this. To learn more about Napa valley wines and food and wine matching, click on the following links.
Food & wine pairing principles
Anyone visiting the States will be struck by American’s apparent lack of time. For those of you who can identify with that, Premier Wine Training offers a super one-day wine course each month in central Dublin, which is liberally sprinkled with food and wine matching suggestions. The next date is Saturday 29th January 2011. For more information see www.premierwinetraining.com.
